


Destiny Knot

by Achika



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, M/M, Pining, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2017-12-03 10:25:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/697255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Achika/pseuds/Achika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Green and Red were engaged to each other when they were children. Red never seemed to care, but maybe Green cared too much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Green has known for as long as he can remember that he and Red are supposed to get married when they grow up. It had been decided when Red was only a few weeks old, and Green only a few months older himself. 

It made sense. They lived next door to each other, their families were friends, and it was beneficial for everyone involved.

It was never something the adults had felt the need to keep from them, and so Green grew up knowing that it was going to be him and Red, no matter what.

Red didn’t seem to get that though. Red would look at him and it felt like he wasn’t even seeing Green, sometimes. It seemed like the only time Green could even get Red’s attention was when he was picking on him or being obnoxious. So Green decided that he was going to _make_ Red notice him.

Green was going to be the best pokemon trainer there ever was. He was going to be _Champion_. And then Red would look at him and really _see_ him, and they’d take on the world together. 

But Red wins every battle between them. The first, outside Oak Laboratories with their brand new pokemon and just so excited, went to Red. And the next, and the next. The first time he’d lost, Green had been upset, but he’d been determined to improve. And he did. 

Green beat Gym Leader after Gym Leader, snuck through Team Rocket’s forces without them even noticing he’d been there. Green was _good_.

But no matter how much he improved Red was just _that much better_ , and no matter what Green did, Red never seemed to notice. 

_(Green’s standing in front of a grave marker and he knows his eyes are red-rimmed from the tears that only stopped a few minutes ago. There are footsteps behind him and Green turns around._

_“What are you doing here?” Green asks flatly. “Your pokemon don’t look dead,”_

_Red just looks at him, doesn’t say anything or ask why Green’s there or if anything is wrong, and that just makes Green angrier._

_“Well, they may not be dead, but I bet I can make them faint! C’mon, Red, let’s go,”_

_Green loses again, but he’s angry and not thinking straight, it’s to be expected. That doesn’t make it hurt less. He manages to wait until Red’s out of sight before he starts crying again.)_

It never changed, not even when they were facing off against each other on the Indigo Plateau, when Green was finally, finally Champion. Now, Green looked back at his own excitement to fight Red and laughed and shook his head at his own naiveté. 

_(Green is in shock. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Green recalled his pokemon._

_“You’ve beaten me at my best. All that work to become League Champion and…it’s over already. You’re the new Champion,” Green manages to say, feeling numb. His life goal’s just been torn out from under him and_ **Red doesn’t even look happy** , he has that same expression on his face and somehow that makes it worse.  
Green barely hears the door open and admit his grandpa, but he hears every scolding word he says, and thinks that his grandpa doesn’t understand anything.  
Professor Oak takes Red to see the Hall of Fame, and Lance comes in. He doesn’t say anything, but he puts a hand on Green’s shoulder.) 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 'secret' is out.

It was no secret that Green and Red were engaged – it was announced in the Pallet Town paper when they were little. If anyone asked, Green told the truth. But no one really asked.  And it’s not like it came up all that often, anyway, what with Red trying to become one with nature or whatever he was doing far away from civilization and with no wedding plans anywhere in sight even if someone had the eyes of a Spearrow. Sometimes, Green even manages to forget that the engagement is even a thing.

So when it was suddenly plastered all over papers across Kanto (and maybe beyond, fuck, Green had no idea how far it went) that Gym Leader Green and Legendary Champion Red have a ‘secret’ engagement, Green was honestly surprised.

“Why do they even care?” Green snapped at one of his trainers, but it was a stupid question and he knew it. They cared because Red and Green were the youngest Champions in Indigo League history – the youngest  _anywhere_. They’ve become worldwide sensations.

So of course the speculation started as before the ink was even dry on the newspapers,  and Green had the dubious pleasure of having  _all of Kanto_ suddenly invested in his love life.

“No, Mrs. Takahashi, I don’t know when Red’s coming back from training. I haven’t spoken to him since he left,” Green said, when he was cornered in the grocery store by one of Viridian City’s little old ladies on Monday morning.

Mrs. Takahashi frowned at him and shook her head, sharing a significant look with her husband. “That’s just not right,”

“Kids these days have no respect for tradition. Why, we were an arranged marriage, Green, and look at us, still going after all these years,” he said.

Green nodded, gritting his teeth. “I’ll keep that in mind,”

Word must have gotten around - gossiping old biddies, Green thought - that the two of them hadn't even spoken in years. And the current feelings in Kanto appeared to be that Green had been Done Wrong By, or something ( and Green secretly agreed with them, a little bit. This situation wasn’t fair at all) Because by Thursday, he had had more offers to be introduced to people’s sons/nephews/cousins/grandsons than was reasonable and was running out of polite ways to say “I’m really not interested,”

It was starting to get bad enough that Green was almost wishing that Team Rocket would miraculously try to make a comeback and distract everyone. Though with his current luck, Giovanni would show up on the Gym’s doorstep and say “I have a son I want you to meet,”  

(Actually, Green could believe that Giovanni would take a sick pleasure in ‘stealing’ Red’s fiancé for some sort of twisted revenge. He made a mental note to pay more attention to his surroundings, just in case. Giovanni was never as defeated or dead as people claimed he was.)

But then the Viridian Tribune ran a story about how Green had been Wronged and was brokenhearted and pining for his childhood love who’d disappeared on him, and Green had had enough.

“This bullshit needs to stop. Right now,” Green said, glaring at the paper. Bonita and the other trainers took the opportunity to leave before things got nasty.

Green was  _not_ going to be thought of as some…some…heroine in a bad novel. It was bad enough Red had taken his Championship, Green was not going to let Red take his dignity, too.

There was only one thing to do then: Climb Mt. Silver.


	3. Retrieval

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> up and down the mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops has it been this long since I updated?

Green pulled his coat closer to his body. The wind was biting and colder than it had any right to be, considering that it was Spring. Eevee cuddled up close to him on his shoulder, and Green reached up to scratch behind her ears.

“Don’t worry, girl, we’re almost there. And then you can bite Red, okay?” he said, and Eevee gave a rumbling purr next to his ear. 

Red’s cave was there in front of him. He stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts and figure out what he was planning to say. 

He took a deep breath and strode forward, projecting as much confidence as he could. 

“Alright, jerk, get your stuff. This has gone on long enough and I’m not coddling you anymore,” Green said loudly as he stepped into the cave. 

Red looked up from where he was playing with Pikachu. “Green?”

“I said _get your stuff_. You’re coming home,” Green snapped. 

“Is something wrong?” Red asked, standing. “Mom and Professor Oak, are they –“ 

“They’re fine. I’m just sick of your bullshit,” Green said, beginning to gather up Red’s things that were strewn around the cave. 

“I’m not leaving. Green, what’s gotten into you?” Red asked, putting a concerned hand on Green’s shoulder. Something inside Green snapped, and he shoved Red off.

“Either break the engagement or come down off the mountain,” Green said. 

Red looked surprised. “What?” 

“You heard me!” 

The silence after Green’s outburst rang through the cave. Green stared at Red expectantly. Whatever Red decided, at least it would _be_ decided. 

“Clearly something is going on. I’ll…I’ll come home. For a little while, at least,” Red said, trying to placate Green. 

Green nodded stiffly. 

Red packed in silence. The trek down Mt. Silver was awkward. 

Everyone in Pallet Town was overjoyed to see Red again. 

“When Green said he was going to get you, we were all so happy!” Daisy said, hugging Red.

Red was clearly uncomfortable, but Green didn’t rescue him. Delia had burst into grateful tears when Green had stopped by on his way to Mt. Silver, a little revenge was called for. 

“I hope this means you two are done putting things off,” Professor Oak said.

Green smiled at Red. It was not a pleasant expression, and Red looked like he was deeply regretting leaving Mt. Silver. 

“You’ll have to ask Red that, won’t you Gramps?” 

After dinner, Green felt a tiny bit more charitable, and Red still had the shellshocked look on his face of someone who didn’t know what to do with people, so when everyone was distracted he tapped the side of Red’s wrist to get his attention. 

Red looked up at him, confused, until Green looked over to the stairway and raised an eyebrow at him. Red gave him a grateful smile and the two of them managed to sneak away from their families while no one was paying them any attention. 

The door to Green’s old room shut behind them with a click, and Red let out a sigh of relief. 

“I love them, you know I do, but –“ he said. 

“They’re needy and annoying,” Green finished. 

“Well, I didn’t say it,” Red said sheepishly. 

Green sat down on his bed with a yawn. It had been a very long day.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m the one who’s been living with it for the past…however long it’s been since you fucked off,” Green said. 

It had been four years and three months, but Green wasn’t about to say _that_.

There was silence for a long moment. 

‘Don’t have a response to that now, do you?’ Green thought spitefully. 

“You sure are charming today,” Red said. 

“I’m always charming, doucheface,” Green said, and threw a pillow at Red, which he caught easily. 

Red sat down on the bed next to Green, and then shoved the pillow into Green’s face with a grin. Green retaliated by blindly reaching out and grabbing the spot on Red’s right side that would make him curl up like a Sandshrew to try and defend the ticklish area. 

The two of them tussled for a little bit, regressing to the 10 year olds they’d been when their Pokemon journeys had started, but they couldn’t keep it up very long after the trek from Mt. Silver and dealing with excited family. 

“So,” Red said, once they’d managed to catch their breaths. “You gonna tell me what your problem is and why you dragged me here or am I just going to have to figure it out on my own?” 

Green scowled, the lighthearted mood instantly broken, and stood up. 

“Figure it out. It’s not some mystery. A couple days back in reality dealing with what I do should wake you up,”


End file.
